Off Topic Why is BBC4 TV such a brilliant DOCUMENTARY channel ?

Really enjoyed Storyville ‘The Red Penguins’ about USA cash involvement in buying out the Red Army’s premier ice hockey team and the bizarre ways of enticing crowds back to matches!

 

Not seen that, but I’ll give it a go

 

Let us know if you enjoyed it - I think I might have persuaded to attend with all the freebies on offer

 

Watched it yesterday, great watch.
Good recommendation Prof.

 

Excellent program. The Russian national team (essentially red army team members) gave the Canadian national team a hell of a shock when they first played them in 1972 and beat the Canucks 3 times in an 8 game series. The USSR were 3-1-1 up, Canada needing to win the last 3 games in Moscow to take the "Summit Series" . They did, winning the final game 5-4 with 2 minutes to go.
Brilliant series - Canada came to a standstill for a couple of weeks that September - we even had a TV brought in to work for the games played in Russia.

 

Does anyone remember watching
Roads to Freedom? In the bbc in 1970 and repeated in 72 and 76? Or read Sartres book?
The beeb apparently refuse to show it again. I’m quite interested in any info on this. So don’t let me down 606ers


If you’re under 50, you may not know that the BBC dramatised Jean-Paul Sartre’s trilogy of novels, The Roads to Freedom, so you won’t realise that you missed the best series the BBC ever made.
You certainly won’t have seen it, because the BBC won’t allow you to.
It is has not been shown on television since 1976, it is not on DVD, not available as a box set, not on YouTube, Netflix, or anywhere else. The mystery is why - and why the BBC won’t tell us why.
I’ll come back to this strange story, but first:

Why is the BBC’s adaptation of The Roads to Freedom important?
Jean-Paul Sartre’s three novels, (published 1945-49 as Les Chemins de La Liberté) focus on a philosophy teacher, Mathieu Delarue, and his group of bohemian friends in Paris just before the Second World War and into the Nazi occupation. Mathieu’s aim is to defend his personal and intellectual freedom, resisting all forms of commitment to people, politics or action.
The perspective shifts constantly between characters, especially in the second book, creating a mosaic of simultaneous individual experiences of people preoccupied with the details of their own lives, in denial and powerless in the face of oncoming disaster.
Almost unfilmable, you might think. But it worked perfectly, thanks to inspired direction by James Cellan Jones, and David Turner’s intelligent dramatisation. Then there was Michael Bryant’s superb portrayal of Mathieu (a part he seemed born to play), and unforgettable contributions from Georgia Brown (Lola), Daniel Massey (Daniel), Rosemary Leach (Marcelle), Alison Fiske (Ivich), Anthony Higgins (Boris), and many more.

 

I've just set Spiral final series to Link .
Ive watched one other series but cant remember which one .
Are they a series you can watch or fo you need to start from the 1st series ?

 

Which one?

 

For anyone who hasn't seen it, Lilyhammer is on Netflix. Brilliant series.

 

The final series started in BBC 4 last night .
Are they series specific or does it really need following from the very 1st series ?

 

Yes I agree its top notch I'd forgot I'd seen that

 

Remember it well. One of those programmes we, in those days when you saw a programme when it was transmitted or lost it, made an effort to see. Any programme which could get us 20 year olds sat at home instead of staying in the pub was good.

 

With you, wasn't sure if you were referring to Code 37.

You can dip into each series but it is best to watch from the1st series to see how the characters have evolved and got to where they are otherwise some references and their attitudes towards events and each other might not be clear.

 

Is Code 37 any good ?
I really enjoyed The Valhalla Murders ..
Not sure what's up next after Spiral

 

I like Code 37. Interesting to see behind the scenes in Ghent, a city I like.
Very non PC, everyone smoking heavily, unlike our TV, and drinking. It does need to be seen right from the start as a lot of it won't make sense otherwise. The whole series is available.
As an aside the chief copper, Hanna Maes, would get one.

 

I think I've actually seen the 1st 2 episodes of Code 37

 

Worth watching through, enjoyed it. Going to rewatch Lilyhammer this week.

 

Yeah Lilyhammer is worth Re watch .
Steven Van is great in it

 

As most posters on here are no doubt aware, l'enfer, c'est les autres (or 'Hell is other people') is a given. In fact I don't need to spend all eternity using anyone's eyes as a mirror to understand that. I can just read the thread on here about whether teachers are ****s or superheroes to understand that.

Actually that was Huis Clos (No Exit) rather than Roads to Freedom but still shown on BBC in the seventies.


If you want to understand the existential anguish that comes from a full realisation that the universe is governed by chance and indifference I can commend John Paul's La Nausée (Nausea). The disgust one feels from realising the roots of a chestnut tree reflect the contingent random nothingness of the totality of your own being is quite salutary.


Roads to Freedom on the Beeb?

Sorry Chazz - haven't got a clue.


I got distracted for a minute.


As you where.

 

Where was he?